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If the game had stopped ended 126 seconds before it did, Jalen Hurts would have been the hero; not Hunter Renfrow or Deshaun Watson.

Deep into the fourth quarter of Alabama’s 35-31 loss to Clemson in the national championship game last January, Hurts dropped back, quickly scanned the field, evaded a rusher and then took off — gliding across an avenue of green grass before reaching the end zone. The 30-yard touchdown scamper gave Alabama a lead that was short-lived.

It also captured the essence of what Hurts was his freshman year — a reluctant passer and a willing escape artist. That’s expected to change this season with the Tide’s newest coordinator, Brian Daboll, calling the shots.

Daboll comes from the NFL, where quarterbacks are rarely sent into the teeth of defenses and instead are instructed to unleash the ball as fast as they can to avoid harm.

"I am really interested to see how much they incorporate Jalen into the offense as a runner," said Alabama radio analyst Phil Savage. "That was a huge key for Bama last year. I think ideally you would like to be able to dial that back and not lean on him as much as a runner."

Last season, Hurts was credited with 191 carries — 20 of which counted as sacks. Some of his rush attempts were designed zone-read plays while others were improvisational runs. Hurts had a tendency to quickly bail from the pocket when he couldn’t pinpoint an open receiver. And last November Saban offered a veiled criticism of Hurts for not exhibiting enough patience.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts was eager to shed his freshman label and take ownership of the offense. According to others, he has. But Hurts still has a chip on his shoulder after absorbing his share of criticism.

"I think sometimes guys that have success running as quarterback, it’s a little more difficult for them to get the mindset that they want to be a complete player because they know they have the ability to take off running all the time, because that’s when they have success and that’s when they get a lot of positive self-gratification from," Saban said then.

This offseason — after Hurts completed 31 of 65 pass attempts for 326 yards and two touchdowns in the Crimson Tide’s last three games of 2016 — Saban said the goal was to make the offense more balanced and the team’s rising sophomore quarterback a more competent passer.

In the A-Day spring game, Hurts appeared to have made some progress toward that end, completing 64 percent of his throws for 301 yards.

Asked this week about whether he feels more comfortable going through his progressions and operating within the pocket, Hurts replied, "It’s a little different coming from a maturity aspect and being coached by Coach Daboll and all that. I think a lot of stuff has gotten better."

But seconds later, Hurts made it clear he hasn’t completely eschewed his approach from last season, when he was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

"If [the read is] not there and you have the ability to take off and make a play, then you do that," he asserted.

Hurts’ versatile skill-set gives Alabama flexibility, which is one of the reasons he won the starting job as a freshman after his very first game and has had a stranglehold over it ever since. But Saban doesn’t want the Tide to rely on Hurts’ athleticism as much as it did in 2016.

"I think his ability to scramble is still a tremendous asset for him," Saban said. "I think he’s learned how to use that a little bit better and be an effective passer. I think systematically we’re better in that regard."

That was the goal when the offseason began in the wake of the crushing Clemson defeat, when Hurts’ final highlight was a run.

This year, it may very well be a pass, as Savage believes the Tide could return to the more traditional, Pro Style system Alabama used before the arrival of former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. Teammates around Hurts say the quarterback has become more comfortable working within the confines of the pocket.

"You can tell he’s got presence about him, commanding the offense," said left tackle Jonah Williams. "I wouldn’t say much has changed. He’s the type of guy that’s going to make plays, whether that’s with his feet or throwing the ball, so we’re always kind of prepared for whatever may happen. But he’s done a good job."

There are a number of ways to get Birmingham Alabama news. If you want to learn about a couple of those ways, you have come to the right place. Take a moment to read over the following text, and finding a good news source will be easier for you.

There are a lot of online news sources. Just use a search engine and type in “news in Birmingham Alabama” or something similar. When you are looking at the top sites, bookmark the ones that have news that you’re interested in on the front pages. You should look for places that cover a variety of topics so you have a lot to check out on a regular basis. You should always make sure to check on news sites to see if anything new has come out so you can check into it and see if it’s enjoyable.

There are printed publications that you can order online or through a local newspaper company if you live in the area. The printed news may not be as up to date as online news, but you do get all of the most important stories for each day. There are also weekly papers if you don’t want to have to read one for each day of the week. Some come all week long and that’s what you want to shoot for if you’re interested in the area and if you just like reading the stories that come out of it.

When you read Birmingham Alabama news online or through a printed publication, you can stay up to date on the area. You can learn what is going on there from the weather to crimes. There are a lot of news sources, so pick the one that you like the most by using our advice.

From Charlottesville to Birmingham, many in our community stood against the violence that’s happened in Virginia this weekend.

Sunday evening, about a hundred people rallied in Five Points South in solidarity. They knew their voices were loud enough to drown out the sounds and sights of violence that unfolded in our country over the last 48 hours.

"We’re witnessing vile, anger, hatefulness and it’s traumatic and I knew we had to do something," said Cara McClure with the Birmingham chapter of Black Lives Matter.

But they were willing to put in the work to see less hate and more love. Sunday’s demonstration was a part of their efforts to make it happen.

Clergy, activists, parents and college students rallied in Five Points South to condemn the violence and hate in our country.

From the chants to the signs, their message is clear: Less hate, more love. And they are standing against the violence in Charlottesville, VA.

"This is not the country that America is in its best moments and that’s what we are striving for is the best America we can have and the way that that can happen is by people starting to show up and speak up and speak out when they see hatred bigotry," organizer Shea Rives said. "I’m hoping that they will decide to start speaking out calling out, name it and announce it and say we are not going to stand for it."

Many called on the faith-based community to help lead the charge against racism and to promote unity.

"As people of faith, we believe all people are children of God and it is important that we are standing to that statement today," said Daniel Schwartz, Exec. Director of Faith in Action Alabama.

Gov. Kay Ivey spoke glowingly about Alabama’s future today and said she would be proud to lead the state in the years ahead but did not say she was running for a full term next year.

Ivey gave a short prepared speech and then took questions from reporters at the Capitol to mark her first 100 days in office, which ended Wednesday.

The governor mentioned the state’s bicentennial, which is in 2019, and said the state would build on a history she said was marked by innovation and progress.

"And as governor, I pledge to you I will lead the charge in the years ahead to be faithful to our past with innovation and progress and proudly embrace the future," Ivey said, speaking to a room full of cabinet members and staff members who occasionally interrupted her with applause.

Ivey became governor on April 10 when Robert Bentley resigned. Ivey, a Republican, was in her second term as lieutenant governor.

Ivey’s term ends in January 2019. Her first question from reporters today was whether she would seek a full term next year.

"Having finished just 100 days of governing, I’ve still got governing that’s got to be done for the people of Alabama," Ivey said. "And at the appropriate time I will address that other situation and that other opportunity. I do enjoy being governor."

The primaries are June 5.

This story will be updated.

DEMOPOLIS, AL – JUNE 14: The marble statue of a Rebel soldier was unceremoniously toppled from the granite pedestal where he had presided since 1910, on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, in Demopolis, AL. About 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2016, an on-duty patrol car with the Demopolis, Ala., Police Department proceeded north on North Main Avenue to the intersection of West Capitol Street, where it crashed into the city’s Confederate memorial. The impact of the Dodge Charger broke the statue off at the shins. Undamaged was the inscription on the base: "Our Confederate Dead." (photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

A long list of non-profits, apartment managers and businesses were enlisted to participate in a one-day housing fair to get Birmingham area homeless veterans into permanent housing. The inaugural Operation: Reveille was was Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the United Way of Central Alabama. (Erin Edgemon/eedgemon@al.com)

The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District needs landlords for a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs to house homeless veterans.

It’s holding a landlord’s interest meeting on Thursday at the McCoy Building at 1301 25th Ave. N. at 3 p.m. At the event, landlords can find information about the voucher program to support veterans.

Earlier this year, HABD held an event called "Operation: Reveille," a one-day housing fair with the goal of housing 30 homeless veterans. HABD said 23 veterans were given keys to housing at this event.

Thursday’s meeting is in preparation for another Reveille event to be held July 28. The event will connect veterans with landlords, housing authorities and utilities companies for financial and legal assistance to find permanent housing, as well as access to food and other household items.

During the event, veterans who have already registered with the VA can go through a pre-screening process for an apartment, which includes a credit report. The utility companies and apartment companies tour units with the veterans.

"These forums of collective community impact continue to make the difference for our veterans and not only provide housing but other resources to ensure a supportive transition from homelessness," Paula Stokes, Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Experience Officer, said in a press release.

The goal for the inaugural event is to get 30 homeless veterans into housing, said Willie J. Fields, homeless coordinator for the VA Medical Center in Birmingham.

Most Americans do not live in the area, and never will, but for those that do, keeping up with the Birmingham, Alabama news makes sense for many potential reasons. If you are a resident of the area, then it makes a lot of sense to keep up with what is going on in the community around you. National and even international news is easy enough to keep up with, given things like cable television, country-wide newspapers, Internet websites, and even social media. Local news has often disappeared into the background as a result of this.

Two things that national news are decidedly not going to cover for Birmingham residents include sports and weather. Weather is certainly something everyone wants to keep up with, knowing when it is going to rain or shine. In some cases in winter, there’s even a remote chance of some snow happening. In the summer, folks definitely want to know the humidity level, the daily highs, and what the possibility is of pop-up storms in the afternoon or even tornadoes.

Birmingham does not have any major league professional teams in terms of sports, but there is some minor league action, as well as college and high school action that fans and athletics enthusiasts like to keep up with, especially if someone in the home goes to one of those schools.

Keeping up with Birmingham, Alabama news is possible through local TV outlets, newspapers, and Internet websites, as well as radio programs and even YouTube media productions. Many business professionals track it, even outside of the city, since it gives them the chance to take the pulse of state matters and the regional economy. Some who live elsewhere in the world like to track the local news to have conversation material with relatives who do live there.

Of the 10,500 athletes who competed in the National Senior Games in Birmingham over the last two weeks, just 200 of them hailed from the host state of Alabama.

Despite the small contingency, though, plenty of Alabama athletes took home medals from the Games.

Following are the winners of gold, silver and bronze medals from Alabama, along with details of their performances at the Senior Games.

Gold medalists

Melanie Coultas, 52, of Gurley, captured gold in the 100-yard backstroke at the Birmingham CrossPlex with a time of 1:10.

George DeWitt of Madison, won the gold medal in triathlon for the 55-59 age group. His winning time was 1 hour, 7 minutes, 37 seconds.

David Jeffery of Semmes captured gold in the 5K road race competition for men ages 75-59. His winning time was 22:19.0.

James Putman of Atalla, along with partner Ivan Skripnak of McCalla, won gold in the doubles table tennis competition in the 60-64 age group.

Melissa White, 52, of Hoover, won three swimming medals. She won gold in the women’s 50-54 199-yard butterfly with a time of 1:19.0 and captured silver in both the 100-yard backstroke (1:14.0) and 200-yard freestyle (2:26.0).

Silver medalists

Bo Carwyle, 91, of Pinson, captured the silver medal in the men’s 90-95 shot put with a distance of 6.86 meters. Carwyle aso lit the cauldron on June 2 to open the 2017 National Senior Games.

Craig Cecil of Vestavia, won the silver medal in the men’s 65-69 triathlon. His finishing time was 1 hour, 7 minutes and 24 seconds.

Bronze medalists

Joan Coombs of Birmingham, won bronze in the women’s 65-59 triathlon event. Her finishing tme was 1 hour, 24 minutes and 34 seconds.

Jim Fuqua, 64, of Fayette, won bronze in the men’s 60-64 javelin throw with a distance of 44.81 meters (147′ 0.17").

Elizabeth Howell, 81, of Verbena, won bronze in the 80-84 age division with a distance of 1.44 meters. Howell competed along with her special needs son, Marion, who participated in track and field events in the men’s 60-64 age division.

Abraham Manear, 55, of Birmingham, won bronze in the men’s 55-59 50-yard backstroke in 32 second.

Teresa Sullivan of Shelby, won the bronze medal in the women’s 20K road race 55-59 age division.

Steven Thomason, 68, of Ardmore, won bronze in the men’s 65-69 hammer throw at with a distance of 33.58 meters.

Kimberly Vandergriff of Birmingham, along with partner Beverly Supanick, won bronze in the women’s doubles racquetball competition for ages 55-59.

The National Senior Games hosted 50-and-over athletes at venues across the Magic City beginning on June 2 and running until Thursday, June 15.

RELATED:

George Freeman of Foley, Ala., is one of just eight athletes who’ve competed in every National Senior Games. The 26-time marathoner is bowling this week in Birmingham.

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus fights off a block during an NFL game against the New England Patriots on Oct. 30, 2016, in Orchard Park, N.Y.

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